Survival: The Second Outpost
by Wings of Wax
Summary: Part three of the Survival series. Running for Shingashina with Death on their heels, the Survey Corps is forced to stop at the new outpost - Eve's village. There's blood, there's gore, there's death, and plenty of secrets.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Welcome back ya'll!

Here's the third and final part for my Survival series: The Second Outpost.

(If you haven't read the other two parts, then go read those first or you'll be totally lost.)

I hope everyone enjoys it!

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"Get back in formation!" Daniel was screaming at Alik and Eve, waving one of his blades around to get their attention. Hannah was on the verge of joining them in the air, but Daniel caught her just before she could shoot out the cables to her 3DM gear.

There were no trees, only the same rolling plains they'd been on when she'd watched Hans die. She thought she almost recognized the spot where she hit the ground so hard, but knew that notion was ridiculous. She'd had her eyes closed. Now, though, they were open; and she didn't like what she was seeing.

Less than an hour away from Wall Rose and they'd already suffered two casualties. She was balanced on the balls of her feet in Osten's saddle, watching Alik jump and spin in the air. She was the distraction this time. As soon as the Titan noticed Alik's presence, Eve shot forward, her cables hitting the Titan's chest and huge swollen belly. She glimpsed Alik as he swung around the Titan's narrow shoulder. Retracting only the cable lodged in the Titan's abdomen, she avoided a nasty big-handed swat.

They'd never practiced this move before. Sure, she'd told Alik about how it worked, but that wasn't enough. Everything in her was screaming for her to slip around under the Titan's arm, run up its back, and slice open its neck. She had to trust her squad, though. Alik was her first real chance to do so.

Just as the over-large fist on the short, skinny arm reached for her again, she snatched her upper cable away and shot it into the thickest part of its thigh. Her boots were skimming the tall grass as she swung herself around. She tucked into a tight flip and shot straight up behind it just as Alik was finishing off the killing blow.

The body fell below them. Out here with no trees, she'd told him to make sure he landed on the Titan. Once they were dead, they served as a far better landing place than the ground. She was still in the air when she saw him fall too far to the left. Shooting out her cables to stab the Titan in the back, she turned mid-air to reach Alik. She smacked into him and they fell together, landing on the Titan's broad back before she rolled away from him.

When she hit the ground, she found her feet and started running. Osten met her just a few meters from the Titan's body and she hauled herself into the saddle. Alik joined her as they raced ahead, meeting back up with the three cargo wagons they were assigned to guard- and Daniel.

"What the _fuck_?" Daniel was red from the neck up; Eve knew it wasn't from the cold. "I am supposed to be your squad leader! Why would you ignore me like that?"

"The Titan had already broken through the last line of defense before us," Alik snapped. "What would you have had us do? Wait until it destroyed everything we are guarding? In case you forgot- that's all of our food for the next _three_ weeks!"

"You should have waited until my command!" Daniel screamed back. "We should have taken it down together- just like we practiced!"

"Would you two shut up for a second?" Eve looked over at Hannah, surprised at her fierce attitude. The girl was usually calm and happy, never snapping at anyone. Eve felt her stomach sink into her feet. "We lost Usef!"

Eve craned her neck around, searching the snow-covered fields and steam-filled air for any sign of the tall, lanky boy. There was chaos all around. The formation was all but demolished. She had no clue where her other squadmate was, nor did she know where the other sets of cargo wagons and the other squads guarding them had vanished to. Through the steam and snow in the sky, she could see red, black, green, and yellow flares all around.

A Titan was headed for them through another broken part of the formation. There was no one to stop it. His big feet were crushing everything- including a riderless horse. She spotted Usef last-minute.

He was dangling from the Titan's fist.

"He's gone." Eve jerked her head around to find Daniel. "Hannah, the black flare, please. This one isn't eating." The blonde girl went pale, but nodded and grabbed the flare gun from the bag by her thigh. Seconds later, the black funnel of smoke was falling away behind them.

"Everyone _together_ this time!" Daniel turned his horse to the side and they followed suit, forming a diamond shape behind him with Eve in the rear. "Hannah, you and Alik go for the heels. Eve, you distract it. I'll take it down."

Eve pursed her lips. She didn't want to argue with him, but he would have been better with the heels. Alik should have been given the death blow. He was fast and brutal - just like Levi and Mikasa. He didn't have enough experience to do things all on his own, but given time Eve was sure he could have managed just about anything the Titans decided to dish out.

Eve had no problems with her own assignment. She was the fastest of them all and could perform most of her moves with little or no gas. Straight up movements and sideway movements needed the gas, but anything else she managed with almost none at all. Hannah was great with the tendons. She had spot-on accuracy every time she went in for a blow. She hadn't seen much of what Daniel could do.

"Go!" They were only a few meters away from the Titan when the call came. Eve jumped up and her cables hit each shoulder as she launched herself forward. Hannah and Alik were already at the heels. She slipped lower and to the side as the Titan brought his arm up to snatch her out of the air. He missed by only a few hairs. Her eyes were on Daniel as he shot up over the Titan's shoulder.

Alik and Hannah completed their cuts, and Eve felt the Titan falling before she saw it. Her attention was more on Daniel than it should have been. As the Titan fell, he reached up. Thinking he meant to take another swing at her, Eve darted away, her blades slicing down the forearm from wrist to elbow. She must have missed the tendon. The Titan's fist closed around Daniel just as he moved in for the kill. The Titan missed his body, but managed to grab his cloak.

She reacted before she heard the crack that turned her stomach. Three seconds later, her blades were deep in the Titan's flesh, carving out a three meter long section. The Titan's body fell with Daniel's cloak still caught between its fingers. As she fell with the Titan, she watched Daniel's head flop around on his broken neck. It wasn't until she reached the ground that she realized that he was still alive.

Her swords wound up back in the sheath somehow, and she was kneeling beside Daniel as Hannah and Alik rode up on their horses. Osten and Daniel's horse were close by. Hannah gave a little shriek as she slipped from her saddle. Alik just paled.

"Blink once for yes," Eve whispered, slipping the dagger from the inside of her boot where she'd hidden it. It was one of the pretty silver ones she'd found in the storage closet a million years ago. She was holding her breath as she pressed the blade to his neck. His blood-shot eyes closed once, then shot open. His mouth was trying to form words, but the only sound that came out was drowned under a gurgle of hot blood that stained her hands.

It was swift, but Hannah cried out again all the same. Eve shoved the knife back into her boot, stood, and grabbed Hannah by her upper arm, hauling her to her feet. "We can't just leave him!" She was wailing at the top of her lungs. Eve glanced around them. The cargo they were supposed to be guarding was so far away now, but there were no more Titans in sight for the moment. She looked down at Daniel's body and crouched once more.

She ripped off the blood-stained cloak and threw it at Hannah before grabbing the crest sewn onto his uniform jacket. It came off with a sharp rip. She forced that into Alik's hand as she moved passed him. She was in Osten's saddle in the next second.

"We have to catch up to the carts." She knew she wasn't being as gentle with them as she should have been, but she didn't have any words of comfort at the moment. "We regroup just on the inside of that little forest. We'll rest only after we get there."

Alik and Hannah each nodded and began to follow her after she snatched up the reigns of Daniel's horse to run beside her. They were going as fast as they could, but the formation was somehow closing ranks once more. She tried pushing Osten faster, but Hannah and Alik couldn't keep up Osten's pace and she was forced to slow a little.

"Yellow flare!" Alik shouted. Eve looked to her left and saw the flare as it continued straight into the sky and exploded. "We'll keep going. You have the extra horse and the medical training." Eve looked back at him, saw his determined expression, and nodded.

She broke free of them and headed for the flare, but kept jerking her head to the side every few seconds to watch their progress. Still no Titans for the moment. She took a deep breath and looked down at her hands. The ends of her cloak, her gloves, and the knees of her pants were all stained a dark red and very wet. She couldn't seem to shake the image of Daniel's blood staining and melting the snow around him. She'd managed to fuck everything up in less than an hour.

With a hollow chuckle, she squinted to try and see who was waiting at the bottom end of the flare. There were four people and only one horse. She couldn't be sure, but one of them looked to be supported by two others. When they spotted her, one began to wave.

"What happened?" Her question came just as she arrived and jumped from Osten's saddle. Sasha was supported between Ymir and Connie while Krista stood a little closer to the horse.

"Sasha was knocked off her horse," Ymir answered.

"It was an Abnormal. Came through and squashed our horses…" Connie was smiling, but it wasn't a pleasant expression. It was as if he didn't know how to express how distressed he was. Eve knew that feeling entirely too well.

"The rendezvous point is just ahead. I'll take her with me. We need to get off of these plains. I can't very well have a good look at her out here." Connie was shaking as he and Ymir propped Sasha in the saddle behind Eve. Ymir and Krista rode double while Connie followed on Daniel's horse. They rode hard and fast for the tree line only a few kilometers away.

Everyone was regrouping still, waiting for more stragglers and trying to sooth their horses. Despite being bred for this sort of running, they were still exhausted. Eve left her horse in someone else's care, too focused on trying to get Sasha somewhere safe. Connie helped.

"Where the _fuck_ is Peter." She was mumbling under her breath, worried about not having a flat board for Sasha's head and neck. They moved slowly, doing their best not to shake her up too much, though the ride had probably done whatever damage Eve was worried about. They found a small stretch of ground that wasn't occupied. "Connie, I need you to hold her head as still as you can." Eve left the rest of her on the ground as she took of her cloak and laid it over the cold, wet snow. She needed a tarp or one of the wagons, but she didn't know where either of those could be found.

Between them, they managed to get Sasha stretched on the ground. Eve snatched off her gloves and felt Sasha's head first, checking for breaks. She had no visible head injuries, but she also knew that the internal injuries were the ones to worry about. She would have to wait until Sasha woke up to try to determine more. Sasha's ribs and spine came next- feeling along every bone to check for fractures or breaks. Two of her ribs were probably fractured on her left side, but weren't completely broken through or displaced. Eve grabbed her little bag and had Connie lift her just enough so that Eve could tie her middle up as tight as she could with the thicker cloth bandages. With that task completed, Eve moved lower. She found Sasha's left ankle swollen, but wasn't sure for the moment if it was broken or fractured, so she shoved her boot back on her foot and left it alone. They had little choice. Sasha could still ride, at the very least.

"Sit here," she told Connie. He hadn't said a word the entire time, just kept nodding mutely whenever she told him to do something. That awkward, painful smile was still firmly in place as he brushed a piece of her hair out of her face. "She'll be okay. Doesn't look like anything too serious for now." He only nodded again.

Eve found Peter several minutes later, fighting to stitch up a badly bleeding cut on someone's arm. She wasn't sure who it was, but she jogged over and grabbed the tourniquet from her bag. It took everything she had to get the bleeding to slow enough for Peter to finish. By the time they were done, he looked like a butcher coming away from the slaughter. Someone had made a fire and boiled some snow down to water for them, so they washed away the blood on their hands.

"Sasha's got two fractured ribs and possibly a broken ankle," she stated. She was making every effort to keep her voice soft and without expression. "No external signs of trauma to her head, but she's out cold."

"See if ya cain't get her over here and into one of the wagons. I've only got three or four injured so far." Peter was trying to sound confident, but Eve knew better than to believe his tone. Fewer injuries almost always meant more deaths. From what she'd learned from him over the last few weeks, he'd rather be too busy to take a piss rather than have only a handful of minor injuries- at least out here. Injuries were usually temporary. Death was always final.

"Daniel and Usef are dead." He snapped his head around to stare at her, his eyes narrow. She just shrugged at his questioning look. "We all saw Usef in a Titan's fist. Abnormal because he wasn't eating him. We went to attack and Daniel hesitated. The Titan grabbed his cloak and snapped his neck. He was paralyzed from the neck down, Peter. I…"

"Ya made the right call." She glanced up at his hard look for just a moment before nodding once and running to find Sasha and Connie. She grabbed one of the flat boards on her way by a wagon. Sasha was more important than her guilt for now, so she had Connie help her get her onto the board and strap her down. They carried her to a wagon, but left her strapped down for now. She didn't need to move right away when she woke up. She draped her soaked cloak over the end of a wagon. Peter was only a few meters away, wrapping up a few scrapes and tending to the minor injuries.

"Connie," Eve began. She tapped his shoulder to distract him away from staring at Sasha. "I know you're worried, but she will be okay. You have duties just like everyone else." He nodded at her, but glanced back at Sasha one last time before running off.

Peter and Eve spent the next half hour tending to the minor injuries sustained in fighting off the Titans. Several sprained wrists and ankles, a half-dozen small cuts, hundreds of scrapes, and a few fractured ribs later, they were regrouping into proper squads and grabbing the last few seconds of the break to relax. She didn't know where Alik or Hannah were, so she set out to look for them.

Erwin was writing something down when she found them. They were holding each other's hands and Hannah looked like she was crying. Erwin eyed her hard, but didn't summon her. Instead, he moved away from her squadmates and toward a more secluded area. Eve followed, understanding what was about to happen.

"You're being reassigned. You, Alik, and Hannah are to work with Peter until I can figure out where those two will be the most use. Consider Peter you squad leader." The more senior field medic hadn't joined them for this expedition due to pneumonia, so Peter was the only true medic they had. Eve just nodded. "Hannah told me what happened."

"I did what was necessary." She was cold but not hollow. Apathy had settled over her like a wet blanket. This was another death at her hand, but there was no time for emotion now. Maybe when they were safe on the other side of the Wall she could take the time to mourn, but until then, she had to focus. She did not regret her actions.

"By failing your squad leader?" Erwin's tone was hard, but one of his eyebrows raised at the same time, as if it were a rhetorical question.

Her posture tightened. "By ending his life myself rather than letting him die slowly. He gave us orders and we followed them perfectly. I tried to stop the Titan from grabbing him, but my efforts weren't enough after he'd hesitated. I was bait, but you know as well as I do that such a strategy works less than half the time when dealing with the Abnormal Titans." Eve left the fact that he shouldn't have taken the killing blow himself unsaid. It was implied, and Erwin knew it.

"Alik told me that the two of you split from your squad to take down a Titan yourselves."

Eve nodded and took a deep breath. "Yes, Sir. It was a ten-meter class, but slow. Everyone else was busy, and we were guarding the food. We could not allow that Titan to get so close to the one thing that will keep us alive out here."

"Where did you go when you sent them here?"

"There was a yellow flare. I had Daniel's horse. I found Sasha, Connie, Ymir, and Krista. Sasha was out cold. Connie helped me get her here and taken care of. She's strapped to a board in the back of a wagon right now. I sent Connie to go do whatever it was he was supposed to be doing once I was sure she'd be okay." Eve wasn't sure if that was what he wanted to hear, but everything was the truth. Lying was pointless anyway.

"You'll stay with Peter from now on. Keep the injured safe while we are riding and tend to them when we are still. Respond to yellow flares." He turned on his heel and stalked away. Eve couldn't protest. She'd rather protect people than food anyway.

By the time the group was ready to set out again, Eve had found Osten and was waiting by the wagons. Connie came back one last time to check on Sasha, but she was still out. Alik and Hannah joined her first, though neither spoke to her. Alik didn't blame her, but Hannah did. Peter rode up to them at last, annoyed.

"You brats are stuck with me for this stretch, I guess," Peter grumbled. The "senior field-medic" Peter wasn't nearly as nice or funny as the one behind the Wall. "Ya'll have basic first-aid skills, so ya can take care of the minor stuff. Leave the complicated stuff to me. Got somethin' you can't handle? Find me. I'm usually right here. Eve's gonna be runnin' for yellow flares, but she'll need back-up out there and I will need back-up here. Hannah, you'll stay with me. Alik, you'll go with Eve. Don't give her lip! Half a day, and hopefully you brats'll be outta my hair. Don't die."

With that, Peter turned away from them all and trotted to the front of the wagon where the driver sat. Eve rolled her shoulders as Hannah took up a spot as far from her as possible. Alik was close by, but he wasn't speaking for now. They needed time to adjust, but they wouldn't get it out here. She'd had Armin to help her… Who did they have? A heavy sigh escaped her lips, but she didn't bother trying to comfort them. It could wait until tonight when they reached the outpost.

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A/N: Death and blood galore!

Fun shit, right? :p

Let me know what ya think!


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N: I know it's been forever, but here's chapter two..._

* * *

The tiny, mostly-walled city that had seemed so deserted when they first arrived was now teeming with life. Eve stood at the window on the second floor of the building assigned to the injured. Sasha was resting on the bed behind her, finally awake, while Connie sat at the foot of her bed. The little lights shining through the windows and the half-dozen campfires on the ground looked warm and peaceful. She was certain the group just below her was laughing. Her arms tightened around herself. She still hadn't changed her clothes from earlier.

Four fatalities, including Usef and Daniel. Just four. Eve wanted to crawl into a dark place and never emerge. Her squad had suffered the most. She felt responsible.

"You should go get a bath," Sasha remarked from the bed. Eve turned to look at her. "I'm okay now, and I can ride tomorrow."

With a slight nod, Eve left the two of them alone. In truth, she'd only remained because she didn't have anywhere else to go. Sasha had put up with her foul mood for long enough though, so she wandered downstairs.

Peter was bent over one of the guys, pulling away blood-soaked bandages from his leg. She'd helped him set the man's broken leg earlier, but his bone had punctured the skin. Risk of infection was high. They had to keep the injury as clean as possible. Before they'd gotten here, it was impossible to do anything about it. Once his bleeding had stopped, he'd become a low-priority over the one who'd lost a hand.

The room was messy. Blood splatters and old bandages were scattered over the floor. Peter had told her to go check on Sasha while Alik and Hannah took care of the little scrapes and sprains. Since she had nothing else to do, she wandered around and gathered up the crap Peter had left everywhere. When she took the old bandages and soiled, tattered clothes outside to the fire to burn them, she caught more sounds of laughter.

Her chest ached, but not from any physical wounds. It was too cold to remain outside in the snow without her jacket, even when she was near the fire, so she retreated to the inside once more. Peter waved her over to help him.

"Alright, Geiger, this is gonna hurt like a bitch." Peter signaled to Eve and she braced herself on Geiger's leg, holding it as still as she was able. He flinched and bit his lip. Before Peter poured the alcohol over the lines of stitches, Eve grabbed the blanket and shoved it toward Geiger's mouth. He bit down hard, and Peter doused his leg. His howls of pain weren't enough to make Eve cringe anymore. Cauterizing Dag's arm where he'd lost his hand had been far worse…

They worked in silence, cleaning the wound and binding it up with the splint once more. Eve was just glad he hadn't pulled out his stitches. She had enough blood staining her skin and clothes as it was, not to mention that she was still damp from the snow. Rather than doing nothing while Peter helped Geiger to a proper bed upstairs, she grabbed a rag and bucket.

The room was spotless when she'd finished. No one would have known that just a short time ago it had looked like a slaughter-house. She stepped outside to dump out the dirty water, then placed the bucket with the rag draped over the edge just inside the door. She was sure she'd need it again. Peter thumped his way down the stairs, his eyebrows lifting as he gazed out at the room. He didn't say a word, just drifted through the main room to the kitchen. There were a few chairs around the table, another fire burning, and food. Eve joined him, but didn't eat.

"I know I ain't gotta tell you this, but eat while you can." Peter avoided his food as well, though, and pulled a silver cigarette case from his pocket instead. He relaxed in the chair as he grabbed a spare match and lit the tip of the cigarette.

"Where are Hannah and Alik going tomorrow?" Eve asked. Her arms had wound themselves around her chest once more. She couldn't make herself put them down, though, or relax as Peter had.

"Somewhere the fuck else." He kicked one of the chairs out from under the table before dragging it toward himself with his foot. He propped up his crossed feet. "I'm okay with you, 'cause _you_ know what yer doin', but those two…"

Eve allowed a small smirk. Hannah and Alik were almost hopeless when it came to first aid. They'd bugged Peter with questions first, but after he'd snapped at them once, they deferred to Eve. She couldn't move two steps away without one of them calling for her again. She sighed. They were good kids, and Alik was capable, but she didn't want to think about them anymore.

She wasn't sure where her horse or her bags were. She and Peter had been too focused on Dag's arm, staunching the bleeding and screaming for a fire to be made. Someone had to know, but she wasn't up for heading outside just yet. Her cloak and coat were still wet from the snow, despite hanging by the fire in the main room.

Peter smoked in silence, relaxing by small degrees. "Geiger and Dag'll stay behind," he remarked casually, "but I'm not sure if Dag's gonna make it. He lost too much blood."

"We did what we could." Eve shrugged, but her frown deepened. "I keep thinking about Daniel…"

"Won't be the last time you'll make that call." Peter flicked the remainder of his cigarette into the fire. "It don't get any easier, but you'll find a way to cope."

Eve looked over at him. "What do you do?"

"Drink and smoke." He chuckled. "And when we get back, I float my way through as many brothels as I can before I gotta return."

Eve rolled her eyes, but her smirk returned. "Must be nice."

"I know a few ya might be interested in," Peter teased. "Got men there, and some a' the prettiest girls. Ever fucked a girl?"

He was just trying to distract her, but Eve was all for it. She would take this light conversation over her brooding any day. "Yeah," she shrugged, "but then she got married."

Peter laughed hard, tossing his head back. "Why don't that surprise me?"

Eve stuck her tongue out at him and Peter laughed again. He reached behind himself to a little shelf and grabbed a small bottle. He dusted it off and unscrewed the cap. After a long swallow, he grimaced and offered Eve the bottle. She accepted it.

"Should probably find your clothes and try to clean up," Peter mentioned as she drank. The booze was foul and strong, burning its way down into her stomach. The warmth spread, though, and she was able to relax a little. "We'll leave early in the morning to make it to your village and set up. After that, everyone'll be workin' to get the path clear."

"I don't know where my clothes are," Eve said, passing the bottle back. Peter took one more small drink, then screwed the cap back on. He left it on the table, though. "Whoever grabbed Osten got my bags too."

Peter nodded and tossed one arm over the back of his chair. "Someone'll bring it around, but there's a few things in the room you can wear 'til then. You look like death." She knew he was right. Although he'd been covered in blood as well, most of what was on him was limited to a few stains on his sleeves. Eve's shirt and pants were splattered, though, and she knew most of it was probably from Daniel.

She stood, but found she had to grasp at the edge of the table to keep her feet. Peter chuckled, but said nothing. She wandered out of the kitchen and down a short hall to the room in the back of the house-come-hosptial. She and Peter were going to share the little room for the night. It wasn't much, but there were two beds and a dresser. Beside the dresser was a stand with a deep basin. The little pot-bellied stove in the corner would be used to keep the room warm. She went back to the main room and grabbed a few of the smaller logs from the hearth before carrying them back to the stove and starting a fire. While the flames built and warming the bucket of snow she was melting, she worked at the straps on her harness.

Her fingers were cold and stiff, so she struggled with each one. The leather left wrinkles in her clothes and she could see where they'd absorbed some of the blood. She knew she needed to clean it, but she didn't have the energy for it at the moment. She pulled the last of the straps away. Her boots still rested by the open door. Stepping across the narrow floor, she shut the door.

The water was warm now, so she poured it into the basin by the dresser and tossed the rag into the water. She was stuck using some of Peter's soap; it had a minty sort of smell. She tugged off her shirt first and tossed it to the floor. She doubted that she'd ever be able to get all of the stains out. Her pants were next, but she just kicked them over by the discarded shirt. After she'd pulled away her underwear and combat bra, she stood in front of the basin and began to wash the blood and dirt from her skin.

Her mind drifted away into a dense fog as she scrubbed. It was blissfully silent and warm. She wasn't thinking about Daniel or Hannah or Alik or anyone else… The apathy had returned, and she embraced it; it was _easy_. Thinking about her losses was too painful and distracting, especially when she knew she'd have to be at her best tomorrow.

There was a knock on the door that startled her out of her fog. Before she could call out, it opened. She caught Armin's surprised expression for just a split second before he blushed deep red and lowered his head, closing the door once more.

"I'm sorry!" He was almost squeaking. Eve sighed and dropped the rag back into the basin. She dug through the drawers. She found a button down shirt that was too big, but she slipped into it anyway and buttoned it up. It clung to her damp skin around her hips and breasts, but she pulled open the door all the same.

"What is it?" she sighed. He still wasn't looking at her, but she saw both of her bags. He slipped the straps from his shoulder and held them out. "Thanks. I was wondering where these were…"

"Peter said as much…" Armin muttered. "I apologize, Eve. He didn't inform me that…"

"Don't worry about it." Eve dropped the bags just inside the door and looked back up at him. His eyes darted over to her for a split second, but were soon trained back on the floor. "It's not a big deal. Shit, you've seen me half naked before." He didn't say anything, just fidgeted in place. Eve sighed. "Give me a few minutes to finish and change. I'll meet you in the kitchen." He nodded and turned on his heel.

Once back inside the room, she pulled the shirt back off and draped it on the knob before moving back to the basin. After she finished scrubbing down, she grabbed her bag and pulled out clean underwear and pants, but just shrugged the same shirt form before back on. It was far too big, but comfortable. She made her way through the house barefoot, finding Armin in the kitchen, but no sign of Peter.

"He didn't tell me intentionally," Armin muttered.

Eve smirked as she sat across from him at the table. "Don't take it personally. We had to cauterize a guy's arm today. That wasn't easy. And then Geiger's bone was poking out of his leg and that was three kinds of hell to deal with. He's just blowing off steam."

Armin considered her words carefully, then nodded once. "He shouldn't drag other people into it."

Eve just shrugged. "He knew you'd be the only one embarrassed about it." Armin flushed again and began to chew on the inside of his cheek.

"Why is that?" He looked up at her for the first time, his blue eyes blazing with that familiar curiosity, thought it seemed… morbid.

Eve shrugged again, but reached behind her for both the bottle she and Peter had shared earlier and her own stack of field rations. She opened the waxy paper. Choking down the odd, block-shaped food that she couldn't name wasn't pleasant, but she knew she needed _something_ to eat. "Please tell me we don't have to eat this crap the entire time."

Armin shook his head, but offered no other answer for a while. Unscrewing the bottle, she took another sip, enjoying the warmth that continued to spread through her core and fog her mind. She slid the bottle over to Armin. He eyed it, then snatched it up and took a long sip. Eve laughed at his grimace, but it didn't last. The silence that followed was suffocating.

"What are you going to do tomorrow?" Armin's question _seemed_ harmless enough, but Eve knew better than that. A part of her still didn't trust him. Whatever her answer, was he going to tell Erwin? At her accusing stare, Armin flushed pink and looked down at the table.

"I'm stuck with Peter now." Her answer was unsatisfactory, but the only indication of that was the slight fall of Armin's usually perfect posture. Then again, that could have been the drink. She sighed and ran on hand through her hair. Memories from the last time she'd cut it surfaced. "I want to go to my old house."

At that, Armin looked back up at her. The firelight made his eyes glow, every facet of blue shimmering. Whatever the drink was, it made her think of things she shouldn't, so she focused her gaze on the table, tracing patterns in the worn wood. Armin shifted the bottle back towards her, but she ignored it.

"I'm assuming it's not in your village."

She shook her head and relaxed against the back of the chair. "It's a few kilometers away. Less than a half-day's ride." She could still remember the house. It seemed like a lifetime had passed since her last trip there. "My mother… her grave is there."

"Perhaps…" Armin was frowning. She could tell from his tone.

"No." She shook her head and grabbed the bottle. Standing and turning, she put it in its place. "We won't have the time, and it's not important. It's just a headstone, anyway." At last, she faced Armin. He had sympathy in his wrinkled brow and small frown. "I'll spend my free time between Lacey's and Annalise's houses. Lacey might have something useful, and Annalise…"

"It's late," Armin muttered. She watched as he stood, a smirk tugging across her face as the drink hit him full-force.

"Be careful in the snow," she teased. Swaying a little, she took a few steps closer to him. "I don't feel like setting another broken ankle or wrist today."

He gave her a light chuckle. "I'll just wait until tomorrow, then." She smirked once more, but followed him out into the front room. Armin stopped at the door and turned to face her. "Eve…"

"Go to bed," she sighed, the same feelings from earlier washing over her despite her refusal to submit to them. She brought her hand up to her side and held it. The throbbing had returned for the first time in hours. Taking a step back, she leaned her shoulder against the wall by the door frame.

He shook his head stubbornly. "Apathy doesn't suit you, either, you know."

Eve couldn't repress the grimace that made its way to her face. Everything Armin had said to her the night before rang in her mind. He had a faint bruise on his cheek. Guilt seeped into her bones.

"Apathy is easier." She shoved away from the wall and went to stalk back to the room that she was going to share with Peter. Armin caught her hand before she made it more than two steps. "Armin…"

He spun her around. "Don't make a habit of it." She stared up at him, ready to snap back. His eyes stopped her. He was serious, eyebrows drawn together and the blue of his eyes darker than usual. "Please."

Eve sighed and frowned. "Then what would you have me do?"

"What did you do before you came here?" Armin was still gripping her hand. He stepped closer.

Eve thought for a moment before giving him a light shrug. "I never really had a moment to myself. There was always something that needed to be done or someone who needed to speak with me. The only time I was on my own was when I went out for supplies, and I was too busy trying to stay alive during those occasions to worry about anything else." She tried to pull her hand away, but Armin refused to let go. The few moments she ever spent to herself weren't ever spent alone. She was so selfish…

"There had to be other times," he insisted. She pulled her hand from his grip and turned her back to him. "Stop trying to run away from this!"

"I went to Otho!" Logically, she knew that lashing out at Armin wasn't going to help. Telling him anything involving Otho was painful. "I thought it would help last night, but… He wouldn't even speak to me, much less look at me." Armin was silent, but she couldn't face him. She wrapped her arms around herself. The cracks were showing again, despite her efforts to hide them.

"Why?"

"I would lie and say I didn't know," she bit angrily, "but you always seem to know when I'm lying anyway." Tears burned in her eyes, but she wouldn't let them come. "I betrayed everyone in my village. Even Otho can't forgive me for that." She moved towards the little hall that led to the back room. Without waiting to see if Armin left or not, she slipped into the room she was sharing with Peter, barely resisting her urge to slam the door.

"Don't take it out on the kid." Peter was already in his bed, lounging against the wall. Eve said nothing to him, just crossed to the other bed and buried herself under the blankets. "I ain't puttin' up with the sexual tension between you two!"

Eve reached down to the floor beside her bed and snatched up the first thing her fingers grasped. She tossed it hard, and smirked to herself when Peter grunted. "Shut the fuck up, Peter."

"That wasn't necessary." At Peter's monotone, she peeked around the edge of her blanket. He was holding her underwear. "Know what? You ain't gettin' these back!" He shoved them under his pillow.

Eve jumped out of her bed and darted across the room. "Fuck you, Peter!" She knew she was screaming, and she didn't care. She ignored Peter's mocking laughter as she tried to grab her panties back from him.

"What the…"

Eve snatched her panties from Peter's hand with a triumphant laugh. She looked over her shoulder and paled. Captain Levi was at the door, his expression flat and unamused. Eve stole back to her bed and crammed her underwear into her bag before turning with a pathetic excuse for a salute.

"Whatcha' need, Cap?" Peter was half sitting up, rubbing his shoulder. Eve remembered punching him there and smirked to herself.

"Nevermind." Levi closed the door and Eve listened as his footsteps retreated. She sighed.

Peter began to laugh as Eve stepped out of her pants and folded them to rest on top of her bag. She shot him a dirty look, but Peter just laughed harder. "What are you _laughing_ at?"

Before he could answer, Peter took several deep breaths to calm his laughter. "I'm pretty sure he just witnessed all of that."

Eve blushed as she climbed back into her bed. "I hate you."

"Aw, don't say that!" Peter laughed again. Eve just buried her head under her blanket as she curled up with her back to Peter. "Take some time tomorrow night and work out this shit with Armin, alright?"

"Why does it matter?" Eve didn't want to have this conversation - especially not with Peter.

"Don't question your squad leader!" Eve rolled her eyes at the half-assed answer, but closed her eyes and settled down for sleep. She was more tired than she'd realized...

* * *

 _A/N: I tried to make it a little funny..._


	3. Chapter 3

Holy balls. An update.

* * *

For the first night, Eve refused to return to her village. They'd taken up the other village that was still enclosed in the fence. Four squads were set on watch at various points along the fence. As Eve stood with them - also assigned to the watch - she became painfully aware of how out-of-place she was. Without belonging to a proper squad, she was left to wander on her own through the trees, seeking any damage to the fence as well as keeping an eye out for Titans. She supposed her true purpose was to be on hand if someone were injured, but a part of her just wanted to curl up in a tree and watch the stars.

How could she ever hope to belong anywhere in the Survey Corps? Half of the only squad she'd ever had was already dead. The other two hated her for what she'd done to their squad leader. She was an outsider. Very few of those on this expedition did _not_ consider her an enemy, though she couldn't say with comfort that she was a friend to any of them. Sasha was nice to her, Peter was her mentor of sorts, and Armin... Armin was complicated.

In the dark shadows of the trees, she continued to walk on her own. One of the other squads was closeby, but she couldn't remember which one it was or who was a part of it. No one she knew well, of course, but she'd been trying to learn the names of her fellow soldiers. After all, if she was going to be declaring them dead, she needed a name.

Daniel's death was still haunting her. She hated herself for how quickly she'd made the decision to kill him rather than leave him to die or try to drag him along. Leaving him alive would have been far worse. Trying to move him would have been pointless. She'd made the right call - she knew that - yet it felt horribly wrong. Alik and Hannah were still angry at her for it, but she didn't have it in her heart to despise them. She deserved their anger and hatred. And Alois... he wasn't happy with her either, though she knew he was trying to accept her choices and actions.

A shriek from ahead snatched her out of her thoughts. Engaging her gear and flying through the trees faster than she had ever been able to go in her old, scavenged gear, she reached the next squad in seconds. Two tiny Titans had fought their way through the thick underbrush that had lingered on through the cold. One of the Titans was killed just as she arrived. The other was reaching for the girl who was screaming.

She reacted. She didn't stop to think, just moved against the Titan and nearly cut its head off. Her blades clattered as she slammed them into her sheaths once her feet hit the ground again. The three-meter Titan was steaming in the cold night behind her as she headed for the still-screaming girl.

"Oh for fuck's sake..." Eve sighed. She crouched in front of the blonde and grabbed the back of cloak, cutting it with her blades as she made a makeshift tourniquet. The girl had somehow managed to hit a tree branch with the exact amount of momentum and at the perfect angle for it to stab her calf and snap away from whatever tree it had come from. Eve knotted the first scrap of her cloak around the girl's thigh. The next one she knotted around the top of the protruding branch.

"Oi!" A hand snatched at her shoulder as she pulled a knife from her belt. She looked up at its owner, a harsh scowl on her face. "She ain't dead or dyin' and she can still use that leg!"

"If you want her to keep her leg, you need to let me cut away some of this branch and help me get her back to the village." Eve's scathing tone seemed to serve only to infuriate those that now surrounded her. Three veterans - friends, she imagined, of Daniel's.

"You let us take her to Peter then. You can cover our section of the fence, since you seem to be so good at it." The woman who spoke was bitter, shoving Eve to the side as she crouched by the blonde girl's side. Without protesting, Eve shoved herself to her feet and slipped away from them, watching as two of them lifted the girl onto the third's back.

"Keep her leg steady and level," Eve muttered, doubting they would listen.

"Like we need advice from the girl who kills everyone she touches," one of the men snapped over his shoulder. Eve didn't flinch. "Just stay away from us."

"We won't forgive you for what you did to Daniel."

This had to happen at some point, Eve supposed. She suspected Peter of protecting her from the worst of it before now, though she wasn't sure why he should have bothered. It wasn't like she could forgive herself for what she'd done, anyway. Even before Daniel, there was Aldrich, Lacey, Klaus, Orlan, and the others who'd died on the trip to the wall, Annalise, and everyone else who had died under her care. She didn't have to hold a knife or blade to be a murderer, yet it seemed like she was finally beginning to live up to the name.

Although she'd turned her back to them and she was staring at the ground, she knew that one of them was coming close to her while the other two were moving away. She did not look up. She didn't flinch when the hand found its way back to her shoulder. She didn't make a sound as the fist slammed into her side.

"No one wants you here." The voice was cold and flat. "No one trusts you. No one likes you. Do us a favor and desert." Another punch, to her cheek this time.

She didn't answer, just curled her arms around herself. The hand shoved her again, but she kept her feet. Once the person was gone, she resumed her walk. If not for Leo, she'd have left. He was the only reason she continued to put one foot in front of the other as she patrolled the area.

Crunching through the thin layers of snow and ice, she waited for another Titan to attack. Her now-tattered cloak did nothing to protect her from the wind, and her coat couldn't keep her warm enough. Using the gear would only make her colder though, so she walked, stamping her feet and tucking her fingers under her arms. She thought of the previous winter and how desperately she'd worked to keep everyone alive.

Her people had almost worshiped her for her efforts once. Now she was alone, an outsider to these Scouts and hated by her people. She couldn't blame them, of course, but she did wish they could understand. If they'd been here now, in this darkness and this cold - with Titans attacking at night no less - she would have been powerless against watching them all die before her. They could call her selfish and evil and heartless all they wanted, but she couldn't bear to watch them starve and freeze to death. The Scouts were no different, though. She'd do whatever she could, given half of a chance. They did not let her near, did not let her in.

At one point in her walk, she noticed where the fence had been broken in. Frowning, she moved closer to it. The damage was not recent. Ice blanketed the thin vines that had tried to creep over the wood before the first frost killed them all. She kicked at the supports, trying to find a weak spot that might have meant a random collapse, but everything was sturdy. It looked as if a Titan had lifted the entire portion of the fence up out of the ground and had laid it carefully on its side, perhaps for future use.

 _Aldrich_. She hated that her thoughts went instantly to him, but knowing what she did now, who else could she accuse? Micha, perhaps. She didn't need solid proof to know that he was another shifter.

More feelings of inadequacy filled her, chilling the air around her a few degrees colder. She couldn't repair the fence on her own, but it would only take three or four people to set it right. Who would bother, though? Armin, perhaps. Peter. Erwin might force some others to help as well, but she doubted anyone wanted to so much as look at her or her village. Too bad they had to live here for the next couple of weeks, otherwise Eve would have considered just leaving the damage as it was.

As she continued on her path - headed back, now - she thought of Micha. Aldrich had sought them all out, found them, and had died. If Micha was still alive, surely he knew about Aldrich and where he was. Where was he during all of this? He could have been just one step behind them the entire way from Wall Rose and Eve never would have known about it. The thought made her stomach churn. Was she slated to kill him as well? Or would she die in the attempt?

"Eve?"

She looked up and frowned a little. Jean swung down from the tree he'd been standing sentry in.

"The fence is down," she mumbled, jerking her head toward the direction she'd just come from. "Need to find a couple of people to help me fix it."

"We'll take care of it in the morning," Jean shrugged. "You're blue. Go inside."

She screwed up her face in a grimace. "If that's some sort of joke -"

Jean laughed a little, but shook his head. "No, it's not a joke. Your lips are blue."

She shrugged. "I'm on patrol for this section until dawn." As she stared at the ground, she recognized the splatter of blood from the blonde girl's leg. It was black in the moonlight, an ugly stain on the pristine whiteness of the snow.

"Like we need a snowman guarding us," Jean remarked, rolling his eyes. "Go inside. You won't be any good to anyone if you're frozen."

"Whatever," Eve grumbled softly. "I'll find someone else to help with the fucking fence."

Jean's hand on her shoulder made her pause. She didn't look at him. Part of her expected another moment like the one earlier. She found herself cringing in anticipation. Jean's hand vanished.

"It will be dawn in just a couple of hours," he muttered. "Go inside. I'll cover this area."

"You expect me to leave you out here with half the fucking perimeter to guard?" Eve snapped her head up to glare at him. "No. It's already dangerous enough out here without the Titans attacking at night, the ice, and the cold." She tightened her arms over her chest as a particularly cold gust of wind cut straight down to her bones.

"Well don't go blaming me when you get frostbite and we have to start cutting things off," Jean huffed.

Eve turned and headed back down the same route she'd just walked, trying her best to keep herself moving and warm. It was hard to keep her eyes open though, and she wanted something hot to eat and drink. There was nothing for her to do at the moment other than walk, so she walked. She couldn't seem to remember what Peter had taught her about the cold. All she could think of was the sting of icy air in her lungs, the way her side still ached with every deep breath, the burn of her cheek where she'd been punched. Wasn't ice supposed to numb pain? Yet she just ached.

By the time she made it to the broken fence and back to where Jean was stationed, it was dawn and she felt stiff. She was covered in a light dusting of snow and frost. She ignored Jean' snicker of a laugh when he saw her and pressed on, trudging through the tall grass dusted over with snow much like herself. The village wasn't far.

"Didn't know there were snowman shifters. Did you, Kirstein?" Peter. She rolled her eyes and ignored him, shoving open the door to the main hall. She and Peter had turned it into a sort of infirmary and they'd take the two rooms at the top for themselves. Everyone else could share as far as she was concerned. She was glad for her solitude. "Before ya get comfy, come see me."

"About what?" Eve knew she'd snapped too harshly, but she had a feeling she knew what Peter wanted to discuss and she wasn't interested.

"That bruise on yer face for one," Peter snapped back. "And that lil' blond girl for two. She got frostbite 'cause'a you."

Eve narrowed her eyes at Peter, her hand clenching the knob on the door with too much force. "I think you know better than to blame me for that."

Raising his chin, Peter looked down his nose at her. It was possibly the most condescending look Peter had ever given her. "'Cause you were too chicken shit to stand up to those fuckers and take care of that lil' girl?" He raised his hand and propped it on the door, dropping the condescension and anger from his tone and posture. "Go get warmed up and eat somethin'. We got work to do."

There was a moment between them where Eve let her anger fall away and her anguish show through. It was brief and raw, but enough for Peter to see and understand. Although Jean had been there to see, she couldn't find it in herself to care. She wasn't sure if she was imagining the way his eyebrows drew together with a frown over his lips. Peter clapped him on the shoulder after only a second and they turned away.

Eve retreated to her own little room, shedding her wet clothes as she made her way up the stairs. Her ruined cloak she left hanging on the banister, her jacket on the newel post. Her boots sat just outside of her door. After the door was closed behind her, she drifted to her small bed and buried herself under the quilts she'd dragged up from the cellar. She shivered for a long while as she struggled to warm herself up. The little pot-bellied stove in the room held only a dying fire, and she had nothing to stoke it with nor the energy to find something to do so.

The morning sun shone into the tiny windows dotting the corner room she'd snagged, and although it was the larger room, she was starting to regret her choice. She tugged the quilt over her head with a soft groan. A longing for the old fur blanket she'd shared with Annalise last winter made her colder. Sleep came slowly, though she was exhausted. Each time she was close to sleep, another violent shiver would wrack her body and she'd wake back up.

Two knocks on her door and she sighed, pressing her face into her pillow, praying for whoever it was to just leave her be for a few more hours. Even if sleep didn't come, she could rest and warm back up. Declining to answer the one knocking did little good; the door opened after a moment.

"Eve?"

Armin. She rolled her eyes. "Go away."

"No."

She peeked over the edge of the quilt, eyes narrowed. Armin had a plate in one hand and a steaming mug in the other. Coffee and - was that _bacon_? Some of the animosity faded as she tugged the blanket down and sat up. Armin gave her a part of a smile as he crossed the room. She took the plate and mug and drank a little before tearing into the still-warm bacon.

"Thanks."

"Jean said you were blue earlier."

She shrugged one shoulder at him as she chewed. "Not now, am I?" He shook his head. "What is it, Armin? I know you didn't come here just to bring me food."

"Peter said he still needs to talk to you." But that wasn't all, and Eve's half-lidded eyes and pressed lips told him that. He sighed. "I know there's no point in my asking what happened last night, but I wish you'd talk to me."

"Why, so you can run to Erwin and tell him everything?" It was a low blow, but the cold and exhaustion had worn her down. The loneliness too, though she'd never admit it.

"I told you I wouldn't do that again," Armin insisted. "I've kept my word. Commander Erwin hasn't asked."

That, she thought, was something to consider. She shrugged and stared down at her plate. "That little blonde girl... her name is Gutierrez, I think. She got a stick stuck in her leg last night. When I tried to help, that fucker Ferris punched me."

Armin was silent for a while, but she didn't chance looking up at him. He shifted on the edge of her bed, settling in. Her mind flashed to a few nights ago - had it really been such a short time? - and the kiss she'd given him. That had been wrong of her, and she knew it. She wanted to pretend that it had never happened, that it didn't matter, but of course it had mattered - more than she liked to admit.

"I know you won't go to the Commander about it, but he will notice." His fingers touched her cheek. Before she could turn away, he dropped his hand. "Stop pretending to be weak, Eve. We both know you aren't."

She felt a bitter laugh build in her throat, but she choked it back down before it could escape. She finished off her third piece of bacon, barely tasting it, and swallowed the last of her coffee. It was bitter black, but it had warmed her insides. "I have a lot to do. I need to get dressed."

Armin stood and she finally looked back up at him. He looked determined about something, but she couldn't name what. "Some of us are going to your village today. The others will repair the fence and start making an easier path through the trees for all of us to get through. Commander Erwin says you're to come with us to your village." She nodded once. She'd expected nothing less. He put one hand on her shoulder. For a moment, he looked as if he was about to say something, but then he clenched his jaw and turned to leave. He gave her one last hard look that she couldn't read - or didn't want to - before shutting the door behind himself.

* * *

Please review. Means a lot.


	4. Chapter 4

Oh shit. An actual update. Wow. More notes at the end.

* * *

Peter found her after she'd eaten and cleaned herself up and dressed. She didn't want to talk to him, but he wouldn't be ignored, and she let him in. He shut the door and propped himself against it as she sat on the edge of the bed to tug on her boots. Her gear was still in a heap by the foot of her bed. She knew she needed to clean it to prevent it from rusting, but she didn't have the energy.

"I'll need ya not to do stupid shit like that again," Peter said finally.

Eve gave him a flat gaze. "They wouldn't let me touch her. What was I supposed to do? Fight them all off?"

Peter rolled his eyes. "You've got a helluva mouth on ya," he said, "so use it. Tell 'em why next time, and make 'em understand."

"They hate me," Eve said. It wasn't self-depreciating, only fact. Peter knew it as well as she did. "It's their own stupid fault. I have neither the authority or the will to force them into doing something they don't want to do. I'll make my own explanation to Commander Erwin, so don't bother."

"'S'been done," Peter sighed. "So don't worry about it. They will only keep givin' ya shit if ya let 'em, Eve."

"I don't care either way." She stood and moved to her gear, picking up the first piece and strapping it into place. "They have good reasons."

"Fuck that," Peter snapped. "You did your _job_."

"I _murdered_ my squad leader," Eve shot back, her eyes narrow. "Their friend and comrade died by my hand. They won't forgive me for that and I can't blame them for it. Let it go, Peter. There's no point in arguing over it."

Peter huffed and stomped over to her, snagging her chin between his fingers. "You gonna let them beat the piss outta ya next time?"

"No," she answered coolly. "Not a second time." And she meant it. She didn't care about what they said or thought, but she would not allow the weakness she'd felt earlier prevent her from defending herself.

"Fine." Peter let her go and took a step back. He raked his eyes over her once more and frowned. "Still too damn skinny. Find some extra clothes. You'll freeze to death out there."

"I've lived through worse," she muttered. And she had. Last winter had been much, much worse. She thought of Bren and the way he'd praised her for keeping everyone warm and alive. "Don't worry about me so much. You have others to take care of."

"And if you die, I'll be the only medic and I'll be overworked again," Peter chuckled. "So stop givin' me shit and just do what I say, a'right?"

"Fine," she sighed, and allowed a smirk. "But I won't make any promises."

"Yeah, yeah," Peter drawled. He shook his head and turned for the door, opening it wide. "Well come on, then, let's go. Got shit to do." She finished with the last sheath and followed after him, snagging her jacket and cloak from where she'd left them and putting them on as they descended the stairs together.

* * *

Whatever had broken down the fence hadn't stopped there. The barn and stables had been completely smashed in, as well as a few of the outlying cottages - including her own. She hugged her still-damp cloak tighter to herself, trying to avoid the biting wind and the sting of sadness that filled her. It had never been much of a home, but it had been hers - her place to return to if she'd ever felt desperate enough. Now it was a pile of rubble.

"Titans, obviously, but why?"

Eve looked over at Erwin, his expression tight and apprehensive as he studied the destruction before them. "Aldrich."

"The shifter you killed?" he asked, turning his head towards her. She nodded. "Why? There was no one here. What purpose did wrecking a few buildings serve?"

Eve sighed. "My house." She pointed to her own little heap of wood and stone. "The barn - where we kept our food." She pointed over to where the slow-flowing river had almost completely iced over. "The stables." She turned to the trees that indicated the southern perimeter. "An unoccupied house where we kept our stolen gear and gas tanks." She could see the sun glinting off a few spare canisters that had escaped and were mostly buried in snow.

"I see." Erwin took a few steps forward, and Eve followed. Her boots crunched in the snow in time with his. "Why leave the other buildings?"

"There wasn't anything important in them." She shivered. "This was done so we couldn't return. I don't know why, but based on what some of what Aldrich said, I get the impression that we broke some sort of vow none of us ever agreed to when we left."

"Why not destroy the other village?"

"What would it gain?" She looked up at him blankly. "There was nothing of importance there. Everything was left here. This tells me someone had to have been watching us." She clenched her jaw and fists. "Pisses me off."

"It might not be safe to remain here."

"This is personal," Eve snapped. "It was Micha. Must have been. Who else could have done this? Aldrich couldn't have made it all the way out here and all the way back in such a short time. There'd be more snow…"

"It doesn't snow as much this far south," Erwin pointed out, his tone passive. "I don't want to dismiss the idea of there being more shifters entirely, but you've said you watched this Micha die with your own eyes."

"He was eaten," Eve corrected. "Or is that not how Yeager first gained his abilities?"

Erwin was silent, but did not look at her. He didn't have to. She could see the harsh set of his jaw and the way his eye narrowed. She turned away from him, ready to head for the main building where Lacey had occupied the upper floor. Part of her wanted to find something to explain this madness, but another part of her hoped there would be nothing. How could she bear yet another betrayal?

"We will continue as planned," Erwin said, his voice carrying. She knew they were being watched, and while she resented it, she knew it was necessary. Armin had told her - they suspected her as a shifter now too. He'd taken on the responsibility of staying by her side as often as he could, simply so that the others didn't have to be near her when they so obviously did not want to be, but she was grateful for him. Her animosity had faded, now that she was sure he wasn't hiding things from her anymore. There were secrets he could not share, but as long as they did not involve her personally, she could respect that.

"Why not?" Eve snorted, somewhat derisively. "Won't take much to repair and fortify the fence. The other barn and the stables are still intact. We've brought plenty of supplies." She checked each statement off on her fingers.

"My only concern lies in leaving supplies behind again," Erwin stated. "If we cannot rely on this location…"

"It would be useless," Eve nodded, agreeing with him. She turned to face him and found him with his front to her now, rather than his profile. She scowled. "Micha - if he is still here - won't wait. He will attack and I will kill him." She clenched her fists by her side.

"And if he has others?" Erwin asked, tipping his head to the side, regarding her carefully. "You never suspected your friend Aldrich, yet -"

"I suspect everyone now," Eve snapped, too bitter to control her anger. "Even those inside the Walls. Hell, I suspect myself - as much as you do." Erwin frowned, though he didn't appear caught off guard. She'd merely confirmed his suspicions as to what Armin had been telling her, though she could see that he'd guessed that was the case.

"There are too many variables," Erwin said. "And much of it boils down to you. Half of my squad leaders want you tried and executed for treason."

She hadn't known this, but it didn't surprise her. She laughed, but there was no mirth in it. She held out her hands to either side of her, smirking. "No trial needed, not out here. You could list me as missing in action, or killed by a titan. No one would know."

Erwin's expression was bitter, but his voice was level when he spoke. "I have the means, yes, and even enough reason to suspect you, yet I don't." He eyed her for a moment. "Yet here you stand."

"I would be more useful to you alive," Eve said with a shrug. "I can draw out the other shifters. Like I said, this is personal, and you understand that. You've accepted it. Even if I were a titan, I could not hope to transform and kill you all. Levi over there -" she jerked her head towards the bare orchard beside them - "would kill me before I could do any real damage at all. But, and you know this, I am not a shifter. Well, I could be - but we won't know until I get eaten, will we?" She smirked again and lifted her chin. "I'm the least of your worries, Commander. But you know that, too. You're unsure of my loyalty, right? You shouldn't be. I despise the titans - especially the shifters. I want to kill Yeager, but I won't because _you_ trust him. I've joined your military. I've done your tests. I've forsaken my people. I have little else to offer or to lose and that's what makes me dangerous, but you trust me."

Erwin said nothing for a long moment. They stared at each other coolly. Eve knew she was right. She didn't need Erwin to confirm it. The tension between them faded somewhat when he relaxed his shoulders, and she fell into a tired, cold slump.

"I don't trust you, but I don't need to," he said finally. "This isn't about trust. This is about what you can do for me - for the Corps. I won't grace you with praises - frankly, you don't deserve them. But you do know how to kill titans and you are an asset in that l, hopefully, you will draw the other shifters out. _They_ are the enemy. _They_ are what hinder us from our goal. Don't give yourself so much credit. Even without you, we will triumph."

She smirked again. So, he was going to play the game, was he? She wrapped her damp cloak around herself once more, attempting to trap in some of her body heat. It wasn't working, but she had to remain here for a moment longer. She wouldn't let this much-needed conversation die so quickly.

"I will say this," she began slowly. "When the other shifters appear - not if, and you know better than to guess about that - I will kill them, or I will die. There are no other alternatives. You don't have to trust me, and I don't want you singing my praises, but you _do_ need me." She turned on her heel, dragging the snow with her, and drifted on too-heavy steps to the center of the village.

"That was unnecessary." Eve looked to her right as she entered the building and frowned. Armin was there, a dry cloak in his arms. She accepted it and shed her own, wrapping the new one around herself. He'd already built a small fire in the wide fireplace, but the warmth had yet to fill the cavernous room.

"It was," she said. She looked away, over st the stairs, and sighed. "You know it was. But it's not important now. It's been said and can't be unsaid. Let's just do what we came here to do."

Armin kept silent, and she was grateful. They made their way to the upper level and Eve led the way to Lacey's room. It had been left tidy and still mostly full.

"I've looked through the other room downstairs," Armin offered softly. "But I found nothing. It seems she took anything of value with her."

Eve nodded. "Those were the public records. Anyone had access to that room, though no one really bothered. Lacey was adamant about recording births and deaths, but none of us really saw the point in it. We let her and said nothing." Eve huffed a sigh as she crouched beside the small table next to Lacey's bed. "Anything personal, she'd have kept here. We had little enough we kept secret, but I knew -" Eve stopped herself and frowned. "I thought I knew her, anyway."

Armin gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze. There were no words. They both hoped both to find more information and to find nothing at all. Eve was facing more betrayal from her people, though she couldn't say she didn't deserve it. She did. But if they found nothing, it would make everything more difficult. How could they fight an unknown enemy?

It took nearly an hour to pick the room apart, but they did not find anything. Eve wasn't finished. She was determined to search every home in the village to ensure nothing was kept secret. Armin stayed close to her always, helping, though silent.

She was grateful, in a way. She didn't have to voice her bitterness and sadness, he just knew. But she also hated that he knew. It would have been easier to bury it.

By the time night began to fall - early, too early, it seemed - Eve and Armin were still empty-handed and had only two homes left to search. Analise's home, and Rosa's. She went to Analise's home first, steeling herself. She hadn't been here since before Analise's death, and she hadn't wanted to return.

Happy memories choked her, blinding her with tears as she forced open the door. She did not want to think of the way they would sit by the fire on the warm fur rug and laugh, or think of the time when she'd found Analise a wedding dress and made her try it on. She didn't want to remember the years of joy and peace she'd found in this house. But the memories chased her down as she rifled through the chests and tables and cupboards. It felt wrong to dig into these things, but she had to - had to prove to herself that Analise would never have betrayed her the way Aldrich had.

They were nearly done with the house when Armin found the chest hidden beneath the table, a thick blanket draped over the top of it. Eve frowned. That had been where Analise kept her materials - cloth and yarn and thread and needles and everything else. She'd made clothes for nearly everyone in the village, but she'd enjoyed it. Eve had watched her so many times, had been sure to bring her as many supplies as she could find.

Her hands were trembling as she flipped open the latch. Analise locked nothing. Armin had pulled it from under the table for easier access. She knelt and began to pull out piles of cloth, large panels and scraps alike. The heap grew as she emptied it. At the bottom lay what looked like only one more thing. Eve ran her fingers over the soft white fur. It must have taken weeks for Analise to stitch together so many pelts so carefully…

As she tugged it out of its careful fold, Eve realized it was a cloak. Tears blurred her vision once more. It was beautifully made, more so than much of what Analise pieced together quickly. Most of the clothes she made were for hard work and toiling, and she rarely bothered to make anything so perfect when she would just have to mend it later. Eve draped it over her arm, her fingers smoothing along the inside. She frowned. It wasn't the rough cotton she'd expected. Flipping it over, she found deep crimson silk.

"What -" Armin paused, and Eve watched him reach into the chest. A scrap of paper was all that remained inside. He unfolded it, but Eve was too busy running her fingers over the cloak, the warm, soft fur on one side and the beautiful red silk on the other. Armin's light touch to her shoulder made her snap out of the memory she was reliving of the time when she'd found the silk and brought it back to Analise for her to make something of it. She hadn't imagined anything practical could be done at the time, but she'd thought Analise would have enjoyed working with it nonetheless.

"What?" Eve croaked.

"This says it's for you." He flipped the paper around. In Analise's perfect script, it read 'Happy Birthday Eve'.

Eve buried her face in the fur and cried. More than anyone, she missed Analise. They had been friends for so long… from before the Wall fell even, and back to their childhood. The little school they attended as children had brought them together, and they'd never parted afterward.

She didn't cry for long, didn't give herself that luxury. It was already dusk and they had other duties to attend to. She pulled her face back and used her sleeve to dry her face. She stood and, to her surprise, Armin took the cloak and draped it around her shoulders.

"It suits you," he said. She nodded, but could manage nothing more. It was warm, and she was more grateful than she knew how to express. How did one thank the dead?

"Let's go," Eve sighed. "We will do Rosa's house tomorrow." Armin nodded and they extinguished the few candles they had lit before exiting the little cottage. Eve picked up the little blue bear Analise had made for Leo and carried it with her as they walked back to the other village. Leo deserved to have it. Besides the soft blue blanket they'd wrapped him in on their journey to the wall, it was all he would have of his mother.

Dinner was quiet and lonely. Eve ate alone in her corner room, shivering. She was tired and cold and miserable. She hated being back here. There were too many memories, too much betrayal. She'd thought she'd betrayed her people by agreeing to go to the wall, but so many of them had betrayed her first… She cursed them, but she would never tell the others. How could she ruin them with her knowledge? Aldrich had been bad enough.

* * *

So... it's been a long fucking time, hasn't it? Shit. Oh well. Here's all I've got for now. I don't even know if anyone still reads this... I'll try to make it more interesting.

I'd appreciate feedback, if you're willing to give it.


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